For Disclaimer, please view chapter 1.

Author's Note: Hi all! I know I know, it's been a while, but I had to update or I would burst! I hope you all enjoy this and that the wait hasn't been too long. Thank you for reading!

-Kersi

Chapter Three: A lie to comfort them both

He quickly rode after her, he had to speak to her before she was gone, and this was his last chance. To his surprise, he found Ene dismounted from her horse and crying uncontrollably not very far from Eryn Lasgalen's borders. He looked at her for a while from afar before getting any closer. When he did approach her, he was cautious.

"Ene?" asked Lasneth as he dismounted his horse.

"Go away." She said in between sobs.

He wanted to step closer to her but it was not his place to console her. "You need to come back with me Ene." He said coolly.

Her head snapped up at him, tear stains marking her face. "Have you not heard? I am banished from Eryn Lasgalen, I cannot go back with you." She looked away. "Not even my own brother, my own flesh and blood, defended me."

"Did you honestly expect him to do so? If you do not defend yourself why would anyone else do it for you?"

Exasperated she shook her head and looked at him, "Why are you here?"

"To tell you that there is hope, to ask you to come back and speak to Legolas and Aurel."

"I am done speaking to them." She slowly stopped crying, using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. She turned to return to her horse which was nearby.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" asked Lasneth.

She stopped where she was, it almost looked as if she was going to give an honest answer but then a smirk appeared on her face. "Because I want to." She began to walk towards Lasneth. "But it should be I asking why you want me to come back, after everything that I have done I would expect you to hold the same ill feelings that your brother does towards me."

He stiffened his body as she approached him. "He does not hold ill-feelings towards you." He hated the feeling of her being so near to him. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again with a clear resolution. "It is difficult to love something that constantly causes hurt and pain."

"Is that what I do?" she asked in jest while putting one of her hands on his chest, while the other hand went to stroke his hair which was pulled completely back, letting not one strand lose.

"You know it is what you do. If you will not come back, then tell me why you seem to take pleasure in your immoral behaviour." He took a step back to compose himself.

Ene began to laugh. "Because it will bring me what I want Lasneth. Can you not see that?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing what she meant. "You are mad." He said with conviction as he assessed her behaviour, the crying, the laughing, the complete disregard of appropriate behaviour.

She took a step closer to him, so close that he could almost feel the heat that her skin emanated. "I am not mad Lasneth…I want war."

Her last words had been like a hushed whisper and it was while trying to understand Ene's last words that Lasneth felt a burning pain near his abdomen. When he looked down he saw Ene's small hand holding on to the hilt of a dagger, a dagger that was now embedded deeply within him. She pulled the dagger out without making a sound. Lasneth only gave a small grunt, not believing what had just happened. He did not fall, the wound was a clean cut, but it caused him pain that was beyond anything he had ever felt.

"What does it feel like Lasneth?" she asked him maliciously.

He looked down at the hand that was covering the wound and felt his warm blood spilling over it, then he looked back up at Ene. "You have poisoned the blade?" It was more of a statement than a question; Lasneth still spoke with disbelief in his voice.

"Of course, I have learnt well…" She began to walk back to her horse, where she cleaned the blade to her dagger and tucked neatly in the satchel she carried with her. "I am happy it is you that will bring what I want to me, I thought perhaps someone of a lowlier rank would do, but you being here meant that this was meant to be, this is your fate."

Lasneth charged at her with all his strength and knocked the wind out of her as they both fell hard onto the ground. He wrapped his hands around her neck and begun to squeeze as hard as he could. Ene squirmed underneath him as she struggled to be set free, somehow she managed to escape him and ran back towards her horse. Lasneth stood to follow her but it was then that he crumpled down to the ground; his legs were too weak to keep him standing any longer. "You want war against a home that kept you safe and against those who loved you as their own? Why has your heart turned to stone?"

Ene took deep breaths in, she had not expected him to charge at her. "Save your energy Lasneth, it will be a while before anyone finds you…that is… if the poison does not take you first. I suspect it won't, one thing I envy of your race…your amazing capabilities to heal, it isn't fair you know, to be gifted with such things…."

"I will not be the pawn for your war, even if I die; Legolas would never start a war."

Ene mounted her horse. "You always did think highly of yourself." She brushed the leaves off her dress. "Of course I know Legolas, he…would never cause such destruction, but I would..."

Aggravated and frustrated Lasneth tried to stand but found that he still could not. "Why!"

"Patience Lasneth…I would say farewell, but this will not be the last I see of you. It will be sad to see the royal family of Eryn Lasgalen fall. Aurel most of all, she really did try…" She smiled at Lasneth as she finished mounting her horse. "Give them my regards will you?"

The numbness had now spread throughout his entire body, even his words seemed to be numb. Lasneth could do nothing but watch her ride away quickly past the border of Eryn Lasgalen as he hoped that somehow he would be able to return to the palace.

Legolas looked at Aurel, surprise marking his face, his eyes focused on hers. "You will kill her?"

Aurel looked away, she had spoken in the heat of the moment, she did not think she could ever harm someone she loved so much, but her silence only fed Legolas's beliefs that she was being serious.

"Is that how you would handle a child that misbehaves?"

Hurt by his comment she looked away. "She is not a child."

"No, but you raised her as you would your own, how can you speak of such things as killing her?"

Aurel picked up some of the letters that lay at her feet, looking through them and not reading them, she looked at Legolas. "And what would you have done if someone other than your Ene had written these letters? Would you not have had them banished? Would you not have had them put them in the dungeons?"

"Do you not love her?" He asked as he circled her.

Aurel stood there as if being scolded and judged by him. "I do." Her face paled suddenly.

Legolas took note of it, immediately rushing to her side.

"Leave me be!" She said stepping away from him.

"You are not well." Replied Legolas as he took a step closer.

She kept stepping backwards until she was backed up unto a wall. "Leave me alone!"

"No." said Legolas, "Aurel, what is wrong?"

She spoke in a very rushed tone. "How could you ever question my love for her? I have done everything for her, it was not easy for me to tell her she was never to return, but the law of this kingdom does not exclude us, do you not understand that? We cannot have one set of laws for the people and one set of laws for us…I…" Her words were broken now, she could not hold back the feelings she had been trying to hide from Legolas for so long.

With all the emotions let free, Legolas became overwhelmed and backed up a bit, "I—."

"Legolas,….I am tired."

He did not know if she meant that she was tired physically, or if she was tired of the situation that Ene had created, or both.

Her eyes were weary, and her tone of voice was hushed. "I want to sleep." She pushed Legolas away from her gently and went to open the doors.

"We should not leave things like this between us." Said Legolas.

She leaned her head against the doors. "What would you have me say? I can sense what you think of me….you think me a bad mother, you think that I am not fit to raise our child."

"No, I do not think that."

"I saw it in your eyes! For a brief moment you let me read your thoughts and those were them….I am sorry that you think that." She still had her back to him.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I had not realized how I had made you feel."

She brushed his hand off her shoulder, still not looking at him, she replied, "Well now you do, you are not the only one who can hold back feelings, now you must live with the consequences." She opened the door, where Ethaen stood waiting, only looking at him briefly as she walked past him.

Legolas refused to leave the situation unresolved, he walked after her. "Aurel, do not walk away from me."

"And is that not what you have done to me for months now?" She replied mockingly.

Ethaen still stood by Legolas's study, not daring to interfere or interrupt.

"This will have to be dealt with sooner or later."

"Or never." Said Aurel, this time with coldness in her voice.

The feeling Legolas received from that response scared him, and it made him run after her, "Aurel, stop!"

She stopped abruptly from her brisk walk and waited for her husband to catch up with her.

He finally caught up with her and placed his hand on her arm gently. "What did you mean by that?"

"Why did you wish for a child you never wanted?"

Shock reverberated through him. "I want our child."

"No you do not!" She placed her face in her hands, trying to mask her feelings.

"Listen to me Aurel, I want our child…" He tried to soothe her, but she remained stiff.

"It is only fear I feel when you say that to me. It is because of her, because of Ene, is it not?" Her hands fell free as she finally turned to look at Legolas. She wanted to see the look in his eyes.

He could not say a word about Ene he was still too hurt by Ene's actions. "You must believe me when I say that I want our child."

"I would, if your emotions did not betray your words Legolas."

"My fear has to do with something else." He said quickly, looking for words to prove that what he was saying was true.

"What is this something else?"

He looked at her, but said nothing.

The look on Aurel's face spoke a thousand words, "Your wish was always fleeting and my wish was always constant, despite it, this child will be born, but you will not see him."

Legolas shook his head, words were beginning to jumble in his mind, him?, he thought, not see?, was another thought. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am leaving, I want to be with my sister, Estel and my nephew…"

"In Minas Tirith? For how long?"

"That will be up to you."

"Aurel I do not want you to leave."

"I will not stay here while you fear the coming of our child, it is not healthy for him, it is not healthy for me."

There it was again, the word him, and it confused Legolas. "Him?"

"Most fathers at this stage would already have made a connection deep enough with their child to know those things, but not you Legolas, you have been afraid to touch me for long time. You do not know how much this has pained me, and I let you be because you asked it of me several times, but not anymore. I will return when you want both of us."

He pleaded with her, what she had said was true, he had been afraid to make a deep connection, "I want you both."

"No, you say that in the desperate fear of losing me."

Just then a guard came up to Legolas.

"Not now." Said Legolas harshly.

"My lord…" said the guard.

"Leave us!" he commanded the guard.

"Lord Lasneth's horse has returned alone." Was all the guard said, fearing the repercussions.

Angered and confused, Legolas responded. "What do you mean alone? Where is Lasneth?"

"We do not know."

Legolas could not believe what was happening, his brother was missing, his wife was leaving him. He looked at Aurel for help.

She frowned, "Go and look for you brother."

"Will you be here when I return?"

She slowly nodded her head, and he immediately went off with the guard. Of course, while Legolas walked away he knew that she had lied; a lie that was meant to comfort them both, but provided little comfort to either. He knew that when he did return she would be gone and it was that now which Legolas feared the most, even more than his missing brother.